Optimal Work Daily - Career, Productivity and Entrepreneurship 1844: [Part 1] 5 Common Small Business Mistakes We Made Early On With Our Online Store by Steve Chou of MyWifeQuitHerJob
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Oct 18, 2025 Steve Chou shares hard-earned lessons from starting his online store, highlighting how frugality can backfire. He discusses the pitfalls of choosing the cheapest vendors, which led to defects and time loss. Miscalculating product costs by ignoring extra fees significantly inflated expenses. He offers insight into managing supplier choices effectively and contrasts fulfillment strategies between free and charged shipping. These crucial insights serve as a roadmap for smarter entrepreneurship.
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Cheap Vendors, Costly Problems
- Steve Chou and his wife sourced from the cheapest Chinese vendors and faced terrible service and high defect rates.
- Their initial shipments had ~25% defects, forcing them to sort goods and waste time on quality control.
Protect Quality Before Shipping
- Ignore vendors offering abnormally low quotes because low prices usually mean corners are being cut.
- Hire an inspection company and attach a detailed quality-control checklist to your PO before shipping.
Vendor Price Is Not Landed Cost
- Quoted vendor prices rarely reflect full landed costs when importing from Asia.
- Expect up to ~30% additional costs for shipping, duties, brokers, and local delivery on top of the vendor price.